As is the case every year during the Rebranding Africa Forum, the Innovation Time session features 3 innovative projects, presented to a jury of industry experts and potential investors.
During the 5th edition of the RAF held on October 5 and 6, 2018, in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), three nominees were competing with very innovative projects. The presentation of the projects by the candidates took place on October 5th before an international jury chaired by Cyrille NKONTCHOU, founder and president of Enko Education. Following deliberation, the jurors unanimously awarded the Innovation Award to Mr. Flavien KOUATCHA SIMO during the gala held on October 6.
EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR INNOVATION TIME PROJECTS (each criterion is worth 5 points)
- INNOVATION (evaluation of the innovative nature of the project presented)
- FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY (analysis of the Business Plan presented)
- RELEVANCE (is the project consistent with the chosen theme?)
- GENERAL PRESENTATION (presentation of the project on paper or video, quality of the pitch)
- IMPACT/ REPLICABILITY (is the project replicable on a large scale, especially at the pan-African level? What is the social impact of the project in relation to the Sustainable Development Objectives of the 2030 Agenda?)
Innoussa Maiga, founder of Agribusiness TV, opened the ball rolling by presenting his Webtv, whose main mission is to promote and revalue the agricultural sector in the eyes of African youth, through the highlighting of pathways to success.
The second selected candidate was Flavien Kouatcha, founder of Save Our Agriculture, a company specialised in the design of aquaponics kits, a culture technology that allows symbiosis between plants, fish and bacteria. Fish raised in a lower tank produce fertiliser for a mini plantation in an upper tank.
Our last candidate was Haoua Kaboré, founder of HK INNOV, a project to recycle plastic waste for the manufacture of composite wood, a material that has several applications in construction or even interior decoration.
Mr. Flavien KOUATCHA SIMO is a young Cameroonian engineer and entrepreneur who founded Save Our Agriculture. Indeed, by a process called aquaponics, it naturally fertilizes plants with fish excrement. For example, this technique saves 90% of the water wasted in traditional agriculture and reduces carbon emissions by 20%. The pilot phase of the project took place in Cameroon and was launched in Senegal and Rwanda in January 2017 and July 2018 respectively. The jury was seduced by this innovative project, which focuses on green economy and optimises the use of natural resources without increasing the level of pollution.
Mr. KOUATCHA SIMO won a cheque for 10,000 euros from Notre Afrik Magazine, the RAF’s partner, and a trophy. “My goal in 2019 is to raise 200,000 US dollars to build a dozen 150 m2 aquaponics units across Africa,” he said. The new Laureate replaces the Belgo-Beninese Mr. Fohla MOUFTAOU who was honoured in 2017 for his project: Green Keeper Africa (GKA).